Page 5 - Pulse @ UM 2018

OUR PEOPLE OUR STORIES 30 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
TH

A Walk Down Memory Lane:

Department of Primary Care Medicine

Nik Sherina Hanafi (Department of Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya)

30
On th September 2017, the Department of Primary Care Medicine celebrated its 30th year
of establishment with an anniversary dinner. It was a night to celebrate three decades of caring for
patients, training future doctors and specialists in primary care as well as achieving research
milestones. It was a celebration of care, friendship and progress.

Going back in history, the Department of Primary Care Medicine was established in February

1987, driven by the need for a general clinic to cater to the growing patient population in the hospital.
This historic progress was made under the deanship of Professor Dato’ Dr Anuar Zaini Md Zain, with
enormous support from the University Hospital management. Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan
Dato’ Seri Hajjah Dr Aishah Ong was the Chairman then, while Dato’ Dr Gurmukh Singh and
Brigadier General Datuk Dr Samsudin Hussain were the Hospital Directors prior and during the
Department’s establishment. Initially, the department was known as the Department of Primary
Medical Care but this was later changed to its present name to better reflect the discipline.
Medical Care but this was later changed to its present name to better reflect the discipline.

At its inception, there were only three academic staff members, namely Dr Tan Heng Soon, who
was the first Head of Department, Dr Chia Yook Chin and Dr Robin Teoh. The Department provided
clinical services to patients and teaching sessions to the medical students of the Faculty of
Medicine. The office was then located on the 10th floor while the clinical services operated from the
Clinic ‘C’ on the first floor of the main tower block. Two distinct clinics were established, which were
the Primary Care Clinic (Rawatan Utama Klinik Am, also fondly known as RUKA) and the Family
Practice Clinic (Rawatan Utama Klinik Keluarga or RUKK). RUKA provided short-term diagnostic
and
andcurative services for walk-in adult and paediatric patients while the Family Practice Clinic
provided long term care. Five years later, a three-story building dedicated to Primary Care was
officially opened to accommodate the department’s growing activities. It is located
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https:// resfom.um.edu.my Issue 1 Year 2018